Results of the final game day of the Final Four-2025.
The VTB Youth League Final Four 2025 ended at Basket Hall.
Zenit-M confidently took the bronze
Zenit-M and Pari NN-Junior played for 3rd place. The teams that have previously won bronze: the St. Petersburg team – in 2023, Nizhny Novgorod – in 2021.
Roman Knyazev team had 3 hours more to rest and prepare for this clash, but Nizhny Novgorod tried to take the initiative in the first minutes. Substitutions and aggressive defense in the paint allowed Zenit-M to quickly change the game – the team scored 14 points in the last 5 minutes of the opening quarter to take a double-digit lead – 18:8.
Nizhny Novgorod offensive problems didn’t disappear in the second quarter. In the first quarter, only 2 NN players managed to score points – Yaroslav Anikin (11) and Artem Kovalenko (6). This duo had 8 of 13 field-goals made, while the rest of the team had 12 shots from the field and no made shots. It was very difficult to expect a good result with such an efficient offense, and the score difference reached 20 points by halftime.
The St. Petersburg team had 26 points lead, but then Pari NN-Junior transformed its game in the third quarter.
Ilya Rodionov team decided to push the tempo. Intrigue in the bronze game returned immediately after Nizhny Novgorod’s 4 long-range shots. Still, Pari NN-Junior didn’t have enough energy for the end. The final score was 77:65, and the bronze medal goes to St. Petersburg.
Zenit-M vs Pari NN-Junior. Stats
Zenit-M vs Pari NN-Junior. Highlights
MBA-MAI Junior becomes the strongest team of the VTB Youth League for the first time!
For the first time in the history of the VTB Youth League, two Moscow teams played in the final. Both CSKA Junior (8 games in the finals) and MBA-MAI Junior (1 game in the finals) already had experience in the such games. CSKA has won it in 2021, while MBA-MAI had never won the championship at all.
And although both coaches said a lot of words before the game about the importance of defense in the final, the start of the game was productive. CSKA-Junior used Ilia Ermakov, who scored 10 points in the opening quarter without a single miss, while the MBA-MAI-Junior players relied on the duo of Matvey Padius – Maxim Ogarkov.
Maxim Ogarkov defense was another important factor of the game. His blocks allowed to make several additional possessions. However, the 18-year-old center had 3 fouls, which forced coaching staff to hide his in the bench. Nevertheless, MBA-MAI-Junior won first half – 46:42.
The second half immediately made it clear that this game would have interesting ending. The leader had changed 5 times in the third quarter, teams’ leaders’ had foul trouble. In the final quarter, CSKA-Junior had maximum a 3-point lead, while MBA-MAI-Junior – 4-point lead.
The game wint into clutch. On the last possession of the game, Klim Adaikin missed mid-range shot, Maxim Ogarkov got the rebound and made a shot with a buzzer – 77:75, MBA-MAI-Junior became the VTB United Youth League champion for the first time in its history.
CSKA-Junior vs MBA-MAI-Junior. Stats
CSKA-Junior vs MBA-MAI-Junior. Highlights
Final Four 2025 individual awards
Alexander Porotnikov (Zenit-M), Ilia Ermakov (CSKA-Junior), Nikolay Natcvlishvili (CSKA-Junior), Vladimir Semenchenko (Pari NN-Junior) and Matvey Padius (MBA-Junior) are in the Team of Final Four 2025.
Alexander Afanasiev named the best coach of the tournament.
Maxim Ogarkov (MBA-MAI-Junior) was the MVP of Final Four 2025. He scored 14 points, 7 rebounds and 8 blocks in the deciding game!
Leaders of the Day in efficiency
28 eff. points – Maxim Ogarkov (MBA-MAI-Junior) – 14 points, 7 rebounds, 8 blocks, 7 of 9 FGM
26 eff. points – Alexander Porotnikov (Zenit-M) – 17 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 6 of 10 FGM, 1/4 3-PTM.
24 eff. points – Yaroslav Anikin (Pari NN-Junior) – 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 9 of 14 FGM, 1/1 3-PTM.
21 eff. points – Ilia Ermakov (CSKA-Junior) – 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 5 of 14 FGM, 2 of 7 3-PTM.
21 eff. points – Egor Yevstafiev (Zenit-M) – 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 of 7 FGM, 1 of 4 3-PTM.
Moment of the Day
The buzzer-beater for the title!
Photo of the Day
MBA-MAI Junior celebrate the first win in the VTB Youth League final.
Final standings of the 2024/25 season
MBA-MAI-Junior (Moscow)
CSKA Junior (Moscow)
Zenit-M (St. Petersburg)
Pari NN-Junior (Nizhny Novgorod)
CSP-Khimki-2 (Moscow region)
PARMA-M (Perm Region)
MINSK-M (Minsk)
Lokomotiv Kuban-2 (Krasnodar)
UNICS-2 (Kazan)
Samara-2 (Samara Region)
Uralmash-2 (Yekaterinburg)
Avtodor-2 (Saratov)
Enisey-2 (Krasnoyarsk Region)
